Is your Donation Website Sophisticated?

Fundraising through a donation website is essential for every nonprofit organization. Having this online presence in particular is key to the success of your overall fundraising efforts. Varied styles and uses of donation websites are available to you. No matter what other fundraising websites and events you hold annually, a donation website brands your organization and makes donating easier for your donors.

The usability or your nonprofit donation website is of high importance. Once your donors decide to donate to your cause, a clear call to action and a simplified donation process keeps them on the right track. Organizations that receive the most donations through their donation website have simply and clearly described what they do and how they do it in a manner that is and easy to understand. Your homepage and brand needs to convince people to agree to your mission and make a donation.

Let’s look at the important aspects of Donation Websites and review some specific examples of nonprofit organizations who are mastering the challenge.

Features of Sophisticated Donation Websites

The donation website for Children’s Law Center of NC offers them a cutting-edge, responsive website for an online donation campaign. Their donation software provides a seamless campaign experience complete with recurring donation profiles, and the ability to customize their online website with ease in design for all platforms – desktop, tablets and mobile. They have made things easy for their donors, who can make a contribution to help children at a coffee shop with their iPad, iPhone or laptop.Children’s Law Center experiences the following services and ease with their online donation website:

Customize their Website and Brand their Organization

Download Financial & Donor Reports for Your Records

Collect Recurring Donations by Month, Quarter, or Other Term

Email Receipts Automatically Sent to Constituents

Drive Traffic to Website with Email Management System

Offer Gift Management for Gifts Made ‘On Behalf Of’ or ‘In Memory Of

Create Custom Questions to Gather Donor Info

Receive Online Technical Support at No Cost Throughout Campaign

The mission of The Children’s Law Center is to protect poor children in family court cases and to advocate for systemic changes to the adversarial system and other policies that advance the well-being of children involved in family transitions.

Through its programs and services the Children’s Law Center strives to create safe, stable environments for children whose parents are in chronic conflict. To achieve these goals the Children’s Law Center administers the following programs providing legal advocates to children through representation, staffing a free legal help-line that gives information and referrals on topics related to family law and children’s rights, low-cost mediation services and parent education, training and support for lawyers who represent children, and advocating for positive systemic change regarding the rights and treatment of children.

Branding with your Donation Website

Nonprofit fundraising websites help you in branding your organization and getting your message out. Your donation website is yet another place to do this. Some organizations use their donation website to receive donor feedback. They have asked their donors to write to them with questions and concerns – but be sure to keep this and any other objectives to a minimum and keep the focus on your main goal of fundraising. To be successful your Donation Website should:

– Include a very clear mission statement for your organization– Explain what exactly your donor’s money will be used for– Include your organization’s logo and branding– Avoid using too many elements or calls to action that can be distracting to donors– Avoid asking too many questions to donors– Include impactful images that share the importance of your work– Include only limited navigation, so donors are not distracted and easily leave the Donation page

Do More with Your Donation Website

The donation website for Trinity School begins with a letter to their donors. The letter is very warm and includes a thank you note to their readers. Speaking directly to your donors as though you are sitting at your desk and writing them a heartfelt hand written letter is an effective measure in fundraising. And they’ve used warm graphics of fall leaves and inviting colors on their donation website.

“Trinity School is a unique and gifted community offering excellence in education. Your commitment and support of the school are vital in ensuring our level of standards to meet our various needs beyond what tuition alone can provide. Annual Giving plays a major role in maintaining and enhancing the excellence of Trinity School’s programs. Competitive faculty salaries so that Trinity will attract and keep qualified teachers; faculty professional development programs; state-of-the-art technology; physical plant improvements are but a few of the ways that Annual Giving funds work to provide Trinity students with a solid educational foundation. Each donation supports and enhances our environment of excellence, tradition, talent and spirit. The Trinity community deeply appreciates each donation and the support it extends to our many missions.”

Your Donation Website and Payment Processing

Donation Software and Credit Card Payment Processing go hand in hand. DoJiggy provides 2 options for cost-effective, non-profit credit card processing in the US and Canada. We offer DoJiggy Payments for organizations that do not need a full merchant account and only wish to process credit card for their fundraising events. Opening a non-profit merchant account allows your organization to process credit cards online and via a virtual terminal and receive funds directly into your bank account with a 2-3 day settlement. Accepting credit cards means that your organization can receive donations in a timely manner without the need to deposit checks or wait until an event to receive payment. As well, many donors give more and commit to recurring gifts when given the opportunity to donate with a credit card.

Donation Websites versus Crowdfunding Websites

With the rise of online giving in recent years, there’s been an equivalent rise in the ways in which nonprofits can fundraise on the web. Donation pages remain a prominent option, but crowdfunding has continued to gain momentum.

Both options are valuable and worth exploring for a nonprofit, but it’s important that organizations understand the key differences and don’t conflate fundraising through an online donation page with crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding campaigns are perfect for fundraising for specific projects and goals with set timelines, but they’re less helpful when it comes to raising money on a regular and consistent basis for needs such as operational expenses.

For online crowdfunding, an organization picks a crowdfunding website and sets up a campaign through the website. There’s a main campaign page where the following is listed: the fundraising target, any incentives, and progress updates. Once the page is up and running, it’s easily shared with the nonprofit’s network and gets sent out to the “crowd” to raise money.

While the campaign will technically have an online donation page, it won’t be the permanent fixture that a true online donation page is and should be. Nonprofits that want to see true success in their online fundraising efforts should have a donation page website up and ready to accept gifts at any time, and then as needed, they should supplement their efforts with specific crowdfunding campaigns.

Get a Free Donations Website from DoJiggy

A free donations website is a win-win offer allowing your school or non-profit organization to easily and securely process one-time and recurring donations year round. Our donation software looks great on all devices and is easily customized to meet your organization’s branding standards. The funds are transferred to your bank account directly and settled in about 2 business days. The easy integration of DoJiggy Payments or your merchant account with your website makes DoJiggy the clear choice. Sign-up for a new merchant account and get your free donation website up and running so your organization can collect online donations pronto.

Implementing a donation website as part of your overall fundraising campaign provides a wonderful opportunity for your organization to raise more money for your cause. This is not to say that traditional methods don’t work. In fact, direct mail campaigns are still very effective in securing donations from previous donors. However, it is a fact that online giving is growing at global proportions. Considering how to integrate online giving as part of your overall fundraising campaign is essential in order for your organization to maximize fundraising results and reach new potential donors.

DoJiggy Donation Software works for online donation campaigns whether they are year round or for a special season or holiday. Your donors may simply create a profile for giving and rest assured that their donations will be processed securely. Your organization will be able to easily configure your donation website to meet its specific needs, or we’ll design one for you to mirror your brand. See our demo to learn more about our donation software.

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About Maureen Peine

Maureen has been writing and marketing for DoJiggy for 8 years, and has a strong background in nonprofit fundraising. While with The Nature Conservancy for 7 years prior, she learned the inner workings of marketing to the State of California within the external affairs department. Her heart is in her writing as she believes in the power of change through nonprofit organizations.